Betrayals
by Kehlan
Summary: After a gruelling undercover mission, Ex Commander Mara Bradfield thinks back on the events that led to her demotion as she travels to her new assignment.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own star trek although the characters in this story are mine. I am not of course, making any money from this story. I am writing it for fun.

* * *

Shivering in the cold, crisp winter air, Mara turned and took one last look at the gardens. Even now, covered in a thick layer of snow, the academy grounds possessed a beauty that was undeniable. She had always liked the academy, but this time she would be only too glad to leave.

It was with a surge of anger that she thought back to her previous visit to the academy. It had been summer then, the air redolent with the sweet scent of roses and honeysuckle, the cloudless sky a deep azure blue and above all, it had been warm. She had been called to a secret meeting with Admiral Moore and asked to go undercover, to infiltrate a gang of pirates.

Unshed tears stung her eyes as she recalled the meeting. It was so unfair! Admiral Moore had been full of promises, assuring her that when the mission was over she would be reinstated back into Starfleet and given back her rightful place as first officer of the Hyperion. She had worked so hard to attain the rank of Commander and just like that, it had been taken from her.

Apparently Admiral Moore had retired under somewhat dubious circumstances and his successor saw no need to honour the departing admiral's promises. Oh, they'd been happy enough to reinstate her back into Starfleet but on their terms – she could return as an ensign or not at all. She did briefly consider telling them exactly where they could shove their offer, but what was there for her outside Starfleet? A job on a freighter maybe? Or apply to the Klingon Defence Force? No, she was 35 years old, it was too late for her to start again elsewhere. So in the end she had swallowed her anger and agreed. And here she was, on her way to pick up a transport ship to take her to the starbase where she would meet her new ship. Assistant Science officer of the USS Audacious. It wasn't fair, she thought again.

The cold weather was making her scars ache and unconsciously she rubbed them. The wounds from the beating the pirate captain had given her had still not fully healed and at times, like now, they bothered her.

Reaching her destination, she went inside the building and joined the queue for the transporter. There was going to be a long wait – at this time of year nobody wanted to walk anywhere. She could see people glancing at her uniform, the single remaining rank pip clearly marking her demotion and fall from grace. Defiantly she stared back, daring them to comment, and thankfully nobody did.

Standing in the queue, Mara found her mind drifting back to the mission she had just completed… remembering…

* * *

 _Mara stood on the lower deck of the transport, watching the slaves as they were loaded onto the ship. They were a mixed bunch - sleek Orion women, well accustomed to slavery and too valuable to be ill treated, mixing with prisoners taken from a Federation colony world. She felt pity for them. There was nothing she could do to help this bunch; it was already too late. But maybe, her infiltration of the gang would help to save others._

 _It had been surprisingly easy to make contact with the slavers, almost painfully so. The whole thing had been her sister's idea – Kehlan, captain of a Federation Starship, the sister she had never known she had. How was it possible, she wondered, that they had each grown up never knowing of the other's existence? Kehlan had grown up in House Gensa, the Klingon state orphanage and had joined the Defence Force. During the Dominion war she had been transferred to the USS Endeavour and had eventually become its captain. For Mara, life had been very different, growing up on Earth and joining Starfleet Academy. She hadn't even met a real Klingon until the second year there and she still did not speak the language fluently. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with her Klingon heritage and the subsequent fights had led to several reprimands from the academy instructors. It was those fights that made her current cover so plausible. Staging a very public fight with her captain had been easy, frighteningly so. And when they had court-martialled her and thrown her out of Starfleet with a dishonourable discharge, even though she had known it was a sham, she still felt unclean._

 _She had been sitting in a bar, the sort of sleazy bar she would never normally have considered entering alone, drowning her sorrows when Morath had approached her, thinking that a disgraced, half-breed female like herself would be easy prey. Well, she had shown him otherwise. She might not have the Klingon training that her sister had, but she was far from helpless. At his indecent proposition, she gave a vicious growl, copied straight from her sister, and slammed the slaver against the wall, her knife going straight to his throat._

 _He had given a harsh laugh as he pushed her hand away. "So you are Klingon after all" he said speculatively. "I might just have a use for you."_

 _It hadn't taken her long to convince him that she could indeed be of use to him and that same night, she had gone on board his ship as the newest member of his crew._

 _The most dangerous part of her mission was still to come though. Now she had to find a way to make contact with the Endeavour and start getting information back to Starfleet. Endeavour would not be far away, she knew. The Starship was one of the very few Federation vessels to have a cloaking device – completely against the Treaty of Algeron, but left over from the ship's service with the Klingon fleet during the war. Looking around her to make sure she was unobserved, she carefully activated the tiny transmitter embedded in her tooth and began to send her first message…_


	2. Chapter 2

"Destination?" The sharp voice repeating the question, pulled Mara back to the present and she handed over her travel permit. Moments later she was standing on the transporter pad of the ship that would take her to her new life.

Settling into the cramped quarters she had been assigned on the transport, Mara unpacked her few belongings and headed for the sonic shower. Before long, she was feeling a lot better and emerging from the tiny bathroom, she looked through her clothes, trying to decide what to wear. There didn't seem much point in putting on her red and black commander's uniform. Carefully she folded it up and put it back in her bag. It was unlikely that she would ever need it again but she couldn't quite bear to discard it. Equally, she wasn't quite ready to don the new science officer's uniform she had been issued.

Defiantly she pulled out the dress her sister had given her and put it on. She glanced in the mirror, checking her appearance. Made of the softest pale brown suede, it clung to her curves, sweeping down to her hips before flaring out in a long full skirt in a manner that was currently very fashionable on the Klingon homeworld. She sighed, wishing K'gor was with her and at the same time, glad he wasn't. How was she supposed to tell him about her demotion? How could she make him understand something that she did not understand herself. She had done her duty in accordance with the orders she had been given; why was she being punished for that? Despite herself, she smiled at the thought of her lover, and allowed her mind to wander back, to remember the first time they had met….

* * *

 _Pulling on a low cut, very sexy dress that was far more revealing than she was comfortable with, Mara stared at herself in the mirror, not liking what she saw. But Morath liked to see her wearing this sort of thing and she had to keep him happy, to keep him interested. She had no intention of giving him everything he wanted, at least not if she could avoid it, but she had to leave him with the hope that he might eventually succeed in winning her favour. And while the crew thought she was the captain's woman, she was fairly safe from their attentions. She was well aware though that she was walking a fine and very dangerous line._

 _The ship had reached the base known as Tortuga and Morath had invited her to have dinner with him and his colleagues. Satisfied, if not happy, with her appearance, she left her quarters and headed to the mess hall._

 _Morath was already there, with several of his compatriots, a mug of bloodwine in his hand. He was already half drunk, Mara noted with disgust, as were his friends. She was careful not to show her disgust however, as she entered the hall, walking seductively to his side and sitting down beside him._

 _Morath leaned closer to her, draping an arm across her shoulder and offered her a drink from his mug. "No thanks" she said, softening her refusal with a smile. "Too much of that and I won't be able to resist you."_

 _He gave a satisfied grunt, liking her answer but before he could pursue things further there was a clatter at the doorway as the rest of his guests arrived._

 _"Good, we're all here now" Morath said, "Mara my dear, this is Captain K'gor, commanding the Heart of Kahless."_

 _The tall, powerful looking Klingon whom Morath had introduced as K'gor, stared at Mara insolently. "Well, well, well. Morath, if I'd known you were hiding that on board, I'd have come to visit sooner. Is she available?"_

 _Mara grinned, leaning forward, allowing him a good glimpse of her cleavage. "You couldn't handle me!" she said, with a confidence that was completely faked, "I need a man who can perform, not just boast." Casually she allowed her hand to trail across Morath's chest armour, her actions letting it be known that however much she might flirt with them, she was Morath's woman and under his protection._

 _K'gor laughed. "Well, when you get tired of the old petaQ, come and find me and I'll show you what a real man can do."_

 _"Enough!" Morath exploded. "We have work to do." He handed Mara a padd. "We have slaves to dispose of and new raids to plan. Take notes, Mara. I want this meeting recorded."_

 _There was a stirring. Nobody liked the idea of being on record in this way but Morath was in charge here and none of them dared to challenge him. For her part, Mara could not believe her luck. Being allowed to record everything openly was going to make it much easier for her to get a transcript of the meeting to her sister. But she had better not let Morath see how much this pleased her. "What do you think I am?" she snarled at him, "Your damn secretary?"_

 _"You'll be whatever I ask you to be" Morath growled, and allowing herself to be intimidated, she accepted the padd from him and activated it, beginning to record the meeting._


	3. Chapter 3

Mara was getting hungry. She really did not feel up to mixing with the other passengers and crew but if she wanted to eat she had little choice. Starfleet had not exactly sent her on board a luxury liner, the Inverness was just a poky little freighter and what few amenities there were, did not include replicators in the cabins.

Sighing she got up and made her way to the mess hall and was surprised to find there a genuine galley with genuine fresh cooked food. Thankfully it was Terran food. People saw her ridges and expected her to eat her meat either raw or alive, but the truth was, she did not really like Klingon food although since meeting her sister, she had learned to tolerate it. But stuff like _gagh?_ She hated the feel of the repulsive looking serpent worms wriggling in her mouth!

Helping herself to a plate of food she looked around for somewhere to sit. The hall was crowded and most of the tables were occupied. She sighed, realising she was going to have to share. Finally she spotted a vacant chair at a table occupied by a man wearing the distinctive uniform of the USS Audacious. The spots on his forehead proclaimed him as a Trill and from the uniform he was wearing, he was an ensign in the engineering department.

Placing her tray on the table, she slid into the empty seat. The ensign looked up at her. His dark eyes seemed to pierce her soul and suddenly self conscious, she found herself rubbing the scar on her face. She could see him looking at the scar, probably wondering how she had got it and why she hadn't had it removed – that type of cosmetic surgery was a simple procedure after all. But she wasn't ready to have it done. She needed time first, to process what had happened to her. The pirate captain, Morath had given her the scar and she was not yet ready to forget…

* * *

 _The meeting on Tortuga finally over, the various pirates and renegades had begun to return to their own vessels. Morath signalled to Mara to remain behind for a moment. She obeyed, wondering what he wanted now. From the expression on his face it didn't bode well for her._

 _"I saw the way that arrogant taHqeq looked at you" Morath said, sneering, "He wants you."_

 _Mara allowed herself to relax slightly, Morath's jealousy was something she could cope with. "They all do," she said, stepping closer to him so that her body was brushing against his, "They want me because I am yours. And I am yours, Morath. I have eyes for no other."_

 _Morath gave a satisfied grin, baring his pointed, yellowing teeth and lowering his head until their lips were almost touching and she could smell the rancid odour of stale beer on his breath. Then, unexpectedly, he stepped back and hit her hard across the face._

 _Mara staggered backwards under the force of the blow. Raising a hand to her check, where a bruise was already starting to form, she asked him in confusion, "What was that for?"_

 _Instead of answering, he hit her a second time and then again, this time knocking her to the floor. Only then did he speak. "I'm sorry, my dear. It's a shame to mark such a lovely face," he said, "But I need it to look convincing." Holding out a hand to help her up, he continued, "I want you to go with K'gor. Take him up on his offer. Tell him I am displeased with you and no longer want you – with those bruises on your face he will believe it."_

 _Mara ignored the hand he held out and a little unsteadily, got to her feet. She felt dizzy and she could taste blood. His last punch had split her lip and it felt as though one of her teeth had come loose. Careful to remain out of reach of his fists, she asked, "Why, my lord?"_

 _"Because I don't trust him," Morath said succinctly, "I have faith in you my dear. Do whatever it takes to get close to him, gain his trust and then report back to me."_

 _Mara nodded slowly. "I hear and obey." Turning she left the room and hurried to catch up with K'gor. It took her only a few minutes to find him and seeing that he was occupied in conversation with some of his officers and in no hurry to return to his ship, she slipped aside for a moment to send a quick message to her sister, before approaching him. In truth, this latest twist in her mission scared her. She was getting in too deep and was beginning to doubt her ability to get out again. She knew that K'gor wanted her, he had made that very clear during the meeting. Gaining his interest and sympathy should not be a problem. No, the real problem, she reflected grimly, was that the attraction was mutual. How could she feel desire for an honourless pirate? The fine line she was walking had just got finer and if she wasn't very careful she was going to fall off and get a lot of people killed._

 _Working quickly she encrypted the information from the meeting and added in a quick message before hitting the send button on her padd. The padd gave a little beep to indicate that the message was on its way and Mara relaxed slightly. At least if she was caught now, she thought, the fleet would have all the details they needed to take down the pirates. Nevertheless, she would continue to monitor the situation and send as much information as she could. For now, she had a job to do._


	4. Chapter 4

Mara's reverie was disturbed as a uniformed woman came up to her table and after rather abruptly introducing herself as Major Durante, informed Mara and her dining companion of their new orders. With a warning not to keep her waiting, she disappeared as quickly as she had come.

Mara sighed, getting to her feet. There was no time to enjoy her dinner now, she would just have to go hungry.

Leaving the mess room, Mara hurried back to her quarters and quickly repacked her few belongings back into her kit bag. She had expected to be on board the freighter for several more days yet – it was slow and had several scheduled stops on its way to Starbase 2. It appeared however, that the Audacious had not been willing to wait that long for its new crew members and had sent one of its shuttles to collect them.

With a sigh, she picked up the hated blue uniform. She could no longer avoid putting it on. Moments later she stood in front of the mirror, critically inspecting herself. The new uniform, in science blue instead of the red of command she was accustomed to, with its single rank pip made her demotion seem very real and not for the first time, she wondered if she had done the right thing in accepting this position on the Audacious.

Mara reminded herself that what had happened was not the fault of anyone on board the new ship. She knew that she was going to have to schedule a meeting with the counsellor when she arrived. She still had a lot of anger and resentment to work through if she was going to be a useful, efficient member of the team – and to be anything less was unacceptable.

* * *

 _K'gor had been deep in conversation with some of his officers when he saw Mara coming towards him. He cursed, seeing that her face was bruised and bloody. What in Gre'thor's name had Morath done to her? It had to have been Morath, nobody else would dare touch her. Dismissing his crewmen with a sharp word, he waited for her to approach him._

 _"Did you mean what you said in the meeting?" Mara asked hesitantly._

 _Her nervousness was not surprising really, he thought, after the beating she had been given. "Are you asking for my protection?"_

 _She nodded, "Yes."_

 _He put out a hand and carefully raised her chin, so he could see into her eyes. "Tell me Mara," he asked quietly, "Do you really need my protection or are you spying for him?"_

 _Mara looked steadily into his eyes. Why did this man affect her so much, she wondered? Why were her instincts telling her to trust him? Trust was too dangerous. She must not forget that he was a pirate and her enemy. If he knew the full truth, that she was a spy, not just for Morath, but for the Federation, he would kill her without hesitation. But she had had enough of Morath. Finally, she answered his question. "Both actually," she told him recklessly, "Yes, I do want your protection – and yes, he ordered me to spy on you." Indicating her bruises, she said, "He did this to me so you'd believe me. I do not wish to go back to him."_

 _K'gor cursed silently. Mara was in need of his help and he would give it. Something about her attracted him. She was a renegade, thrown out of Starfleet for dishonourable conduct. Not only that, she had been Morath's plaything and he was not in the habit of taking used goods. But, he acknowledged to himself with disgust, he wanted her and would take her on any terms. And maybe, just maybe, he could turn her back to the way of honour. Taking her on board the Heart of Kahless would be a huge risk and put his entire operation in jeopardy. But he would do it anyway._

 _K'gor had secrets of his own to hide, secrets that would endanger a lot of people if Mara, or anyone else for that matter, were to learn of them. It was past time he got a message back to his true commander. K'gor still had not informed him that he was now in command of Heart of Kahless, having challenged and killed the previous captain only a week ago. The meeting he had just attended had given him vital intelligence that he needed to transmit back as quickly as possible. He hoped his lord would forgive him the delay in communication. General Kapact was not a man to be kept waiting._

 _Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, he put an arm around Mara's shoulders, before activating his communicator. "K'gor to Heart of Kahless. Two to beam up."_

* * *

If anyone is reading this short story, I hope you are enjoying it. Please do take a moment to leave a review, thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

Moving away from the mirror, Mara picked up the final item to be packed away and held it in her hands for a moment – a book, not a padd, but a real book, printed on real paper and bound in leather. It was a romance, the story of Kahless and Lukara and it had been a gift from K'gor. There'd been an ulterior motive to the gift of course - the book was written in Klingon, a language that Mara could now speak reasonably well but still struggled to read. She'd planned to try to read a little of it before going to sleep that night but that would have to wait. Wrapping up the precious book carefully, she placed it in her bag and quickly checking around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, left the little room for the last time.

A few minutes later she was on board the shuttle and under way to her new destination. Lulled by the smooth motion Mara yawned, suddenly exhausted. She had slept little since returning from her undercover mission. And when she did, the nightmares returned. She struggled to remain awake but before long she had drifted off into an uneasy sleep...

* * *

 _Laughter. Joking. Footsteps running closer. At the sound of the children's voices, the old man tending his garden looked up, just in time to watch as a ball came sailing over the wicker fence and landed in the middle of his prized vegetable patch. Damned irresponsible kids, the old man thought irritably as he picked up the ball and handed it back; when he'd been young, things had been different…  
K'vin's musings about the past were cut short by the eerie wailing sound of the colony alarm going off. Dropping his hoe, he turned and went back into the house, where he picked up his bat'leth and disruptor. The weapons were old, nearly as old as he was, but they were still in good working condition. He might be a farmer now, living out the remainder of his life on this agricultural colony world, but he had been a Klingon warrior once and if the colony was in trouble he would defend it with his life. He caressed the weapons almost lovingly, and straightening his spine with a pride that was unconscious as he remembered the glory of long past battles, the old Klingon headed towards the community centre to find out what was wrong._

 _Getting closer to the heart of the village K'vin could see people running everywhere – men, women, children, running around, like Terran ants when a stick was poked into the nest.  
Stopping someone, a Terran woman, he asked "What's going on?" _

_"Pirates!" the reply came back, "We're being raided." And she pulled away from him and was gone.  
The old man sighed. Why was no-one taking charge? This disorderly panic would help no-one. Surely some of these humans had some military training. Obviously not, he thought in disgust. Oh well, so much for a quiet retirement! Removing his disruptor from its holster, he fired it into the air. As the people nearby stopped for a moment in surprise, K'vin began to shout orders, pulling the colonists together and organising them._

 _The colonists hadn't stood a chance against the pirates. Dorvan III was a simple agricultural world with little technology. Located on the borders of Federation space, it had been left alone until now, simply because it had nothing that anybody wanted. It was the planet's very obscurity however, that had made it such an ideal target for the pirates. Even so, the fighting was fierce as the colonists armed themselves with every weapon they could find. Every minute they could hold out was another minute for the children to get to a place of safety. But there was no chance of victory, only of delaying defeat and after a short but bloody fight it was over._

 _Lying on the ground, his blood seeping into the earth, K'vin could only watch in horror as the pirates swept past and into the village. He lay there alone, listening to the shouts and screams as the pirates began to round up the survivors and separate out those who were worth taking from those who for one reason or another, would be useless as slaves. Slowly, painfully, K'vin dragged himself to his feet. He was a warrior. He would not lie here and wait for death, but go forward and meet it face to face, and those pirates he did not manage to kill here today, he would kill later in the black fleet, a thousand times, laughing._

 _Picking up his batleth, he became aware of a sound behind him and he spun round, weapon lifted high, ready to kill. Only to see two terrified little girls, maybe four or five years old standing there, crying. K'vin swore. He couldn't leave them there to be taken. His duty now was to protect these two children. Vengeance would have to wait. He looked around, trying to decide on the best course of action and his eye fell on a small outbuilding. He could hide them there. Moving as quickly as his old, injured body would allow, he approached the two children and held out a hand to them. Thankfully the two children were too frightened to disobey and a few moments later, he had them safely ensconced in the old outhouse._

 _Not a moment too soon. From the noise the pirates were coming back this way. He could hear shouting and even laughing as the pirates taunted their victims._

 _Then a voice._

 _"Search the buildings."_

 _The noises came closer and in the shelter of the outhouse, K'vin pushed the two children behind him, ready to fight whoever came through that door._

 _Moments later, the door burst open and a woman entered. A young woman, Klingon, but from the look of her, a half breed. She was heavily armed and her clothing was bloodstained.  
The two stood face to face for a moment, then "You're not taking them," K'vin snarled, lifting his batleth.  
The woman made no move, but looked from the old Klingon to the children and back again. Then, a voice from outside, called out, "Hey, Mara. Hurry up, we haven't got all day."_

 _"There's no-one here, Morath," she called back, turning to leave. At the door of the outhouse, she turned once more to face the old man. "Stay here," she said quietly. "Someone needs to survive to tell the Federation what happened here today." And then she was gone._


	6. Chapter 6

Mara awoke suddenly to find Major Durante leaning over her, her expression concerned. "You were having a nightmare," the Major said, "Are you all right?"

Mara stared at her in confusion, for a moment not knowing where she was. Then her mind cleared. "It was a difficult mission," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I disturbed you." Then, deliberately trying to change the subject, she asked, "How long 'til we arrive at the Audacious?"

Major Durante hesitated before answering. She'd been in enough combat situations to recognise the signs of post traumatic stress and she knew better than to comment on it. "You didn't disturb me Ensign, but I know the signs of a bad mission better than you realize." She paused to give the Klingon a slight smile at the same time making a mental note to recommend her for counselling. Whatever had happened to her, she was obviously still not over it. "We'll be arriving in ten minutes."

The major's estimate was accurate. Ten minutes later Mara stood on the transporter pad, listening with stunned shock to the welcome speech given by the new captain and first officer.

Black ops? The commander seemed to think this was old news, that they had all been informed but that wasn't the case. She had been told nothing about the Audacious or its crew or its missions - and she'd been given no time to do any research on her new assignment.

And to be told that for the duration of the mission, she could not contact her friends or family… She could only stare at the senior officers in total shock. Thanks to her own stubborn pride, her fear of what her family would say when she told them of her demotion, she had not contacted them, assuming she had all the time in the world; time that had just been taken from her. Kehlan, her sister - her twin that she had known for only a few months. K'gor, her lover, the man she hoped to marry sometime soon. What would they think when they didn't hear from her? Sooner or later, they would find out what had happened at Starfleet Command, that she had been stripped of her rank. And if this officer was right, there would be no record of her assignment here - she would just be missing in action... Again!

* * *

 _In his quarters on the Heart of Kahless, K'gor had woken with a start and glanced at the time. It was still the middle of ships night. He relaxed a little – he still had some time before he was due on the bridge. It would be several hours yet before they arrived at Beta Thoridor. He was worried about the mission. Morath had given him orders to attack the colony there and destroy it completely. He did not want to attack the colony; it would be full of innocent civilians but his orders from Imperial Intelligence were to maintain his cover at all costs. He was unable to repress a low growl as he remembered Dorvan III. The slaughter there had been bad enough but Beta Thoridor would be worse. K'gor shook his head. No. He could not allow this. He had to do something._

 _The woman sleeping at his side stirred slightly and his expression softened momentarily as he looked down at her. He had not meant for any of this to happen, but he did not regret it. He just hoped they could both stay alive long enough to forge some sort of future together._

 _Getting up from the bed, he pulled on a robe and padded across to the computer desk. The deck felt cold under his bare feet and he swore softly but otherwise ignored the discomfort. Seating himself at the console, he brought the communications system online and entered the password that would provide him with a secure line to his superiors at Imperial Intelligence. As the officer in the field, it was his decision to make. It was time to take down these pirates once and for all. Not wanting to risk awakening his companion, he set the console to text only and swiftly wrote a message explaining the situation and requesting immediate backup. Hitting transmit, he held his breath for a moment and then relaxed slightly as the green light indicated the message had been sent._

 _It would not be long before they were under attack by Klingon forces. With a cold smile he began to enter commands into the computer. By the time he was finished, he thought grimly, nothing on this great behemoth of a ship would work quite the way it was supposed to. It shouldn't take him long, and then he could return to the bed – he would waken her and then they would… Feeling his body react at the thought, he forced his mind to concentrate on what he was doing. Finally, he was finished. If his programming worked the way he planned, the torpedoes would fire but not detonate. The disruptor cannon would also fire, but its accuracy would be off. The tracking and targeting equipment and sensors would malfunction. By the time anyone suspected there was a problem, it would be too late._

 _Logging off the computer, he considered what to do next. If he went to the bridge now his crew would suspect something and he wanted to give no indication that anything was wrong. No, he decided, he should wait here for the alarms to sound. He had a couple of hours, he calculated, before the attack began. There was no reason why he should not spend that time with his lover. Checking that his armour and weapons were within easy reach, he dropped his robe on the floor and returned to the bed where Mara lay, still sleeping. Sighing slightly, she moved closer to the warmth of his body and he reached over and caressed her hair, brushing it back from her face._

 _Mara came awake at his touch and realising what he wanted, she smiled and reached up to pull him closer._


	7. Chapter 7

_The comm. system made a shrill bleeping sound and with a muttered oath, K'gor broke away from Mara and activated his communicator. "This had better be good," he snarled, "I gave instructions not to disturb me."_

 _"Captain, a Klingon warship has just decloaked," the duty officer on the bridge reported, a note of panic evident in his voice, "It's General Kapact's ship, the TiQghoB. We are under attack!"_

 _"On my way." K'gor snapped. Pulling on the armour he had laid out in readiness, he headed out of the door at a dead run, Mara not far behind him. Less than five minutes after the message had disturbed them, they were both on the bridge._

 _Heart of Kahless was shaking under the constant bombardment coming from the ships of General Kapact's fleet. K'gor listened to the calls for help from his crew coming over the comm. system and the sounds of fighting as they were engaged by the enemy troops who had beamed on board and were rampaging though the ship. His earlier sabotage had been effective; nothing on the ship was working quite the way it should be._

 _K'gor gave a grim smile. It would be over soon, but in the meantime there was still plenty he could do to help. And before long he would no longer have to pretend to be one of the pirates, but would take his rightful place with Kapact's men._

 _He glanced at Mara. She looked scared, he thought, and he was reminded once again that despite her appearance she was not truly Klingon. She would die if she stayed here, he realised. Kapact's soldiers had likely been given orders to take no prisoners and they would kill her before he had a chance to explain and protect her._

 _"Come with me," he said suddenly, grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her towards the bridge doors. Given no choice, she followed him, not protesting. The doors opened and he began to run down the corridor, still not letting go of her. Only a very short distance away, was an escape pod, meant for the use of the bridge crew in case of an emergency such as this one. Releasing Mara, he began to set the controls of the pod._

 _"Get in," he ordered, "It's time to leave."_

 _She hesitated but seeing the expression on his face, she obeyed him, moving towards the entrance to the pod. She stopped at the door and looked back, turning to face him._

 _K'gor handed Mara the heavy signet ring he had just removed from his finger. "Show this to Kapact" he told her, "He'll protect you on my behalf."_

 _Mara took the ring. It was far too big to fit on her delicate hand so she slipped it into her pocket. "I don't understand," she said in confusion, "Aren't you coming with me?"_

 _He shook his head. "No. I still have things to do here. But I need to know that you are safe."_

 _"You can't stay," she protested, "They'll kill you if they find you."_

 _"It's a matter of honour," he said, "With your background, I don't expect you to understand that, but it's important to me."_

 _He would have said more but at that moment a pair of Klingon marines came running round the corner and seeing K'gor and Mara, they raised their weapons to fire. K'gor was too quick, firing his own weapon first and both marines dropped like stones, twitching slightly from the disruptor bolt that had taken them down. K'gor's disruptor, set to heavy stun as he did not wish to kill any of what were in fact his own side, would leave them with a stinking headache when they woke up, but otherwise there would be no lasting damage. K'gor glanced quickly at Mara, hoping she would not notice that the two fallen soldiers were only unconscious. He reached out and caressed her hair, wondering if he would survive long enough to see her again. "I just have one last thing to ask you."_

 _She leaned into his caress for a moment, "What?"_

 _"Promise me you'll go back to the way of honour."_

 _Mara stared at him in surprise. He was a pirate, a renegade. What could he possibly know of honour? "I was never a traitor," she said, no longer caring if her admission put her life in danger, "I have always done my duty."_

 _It was K'gor's turn to stare in surprise. Surely he was misunderstanding her words. She had already admitted to being a spy for Morath, she couldn't possibly be still working for Starfleet! Could she? Suddenly his need to get her off this ship safely had just become more urgent._

 _"We'll discuss it later. Now go, Mara. We're running out of time." He gave her a little push towards the escape pod._

 _"If you're staying so am I," Mara said, suddenly determined that she was not going to leave him._

 _K'gor swore fluently. "Damn it Mara, go!"_

 _She shook her head stubbornly._

 _K'gor swore again. He didn't have time for this. He had to get Mara off this ship and then try to fight his way back to the bridge and help destroy this monster of a ship. Grabbing hold of Mara, he kissed her hard._

 _"I'm sorry," he told her, genuinely regretting what he was about to do. His disruptor was still in his hand; releasing her, he fired it at point blank range. She crumpled without a sound and he caught her before she could hit the deck, lifting her into his arms and laying her carefully in the escape pod. Removing an information disc from a hidden pocket in his belt, he slipped it into her hand._

 _Closing and sealing the door of the escape pod, K'gor hit the controls that would send it on its way. He stood there for a few seconds, watching as the pod ejected and made its way into the safety of space. Hopefully, the beacon installed on the disc would broadcast its signal and ensure that Kapact's ship didn't blow the little pod out of the sky. Shaking his head, he moved away to continue his work. There was nothing more he could do for Mara. He had a mission to complete._

* * *

Mara had woken to find herself in what passed for a sickbay on board the TiQghoB, her lover sitting by her side. She never did find out just how he had managed to survive the battle and the subsequent destruction of the Heart of Kahless.

Both she and K'gor had been taken back to Qo'noS for debriefing by Klingon Imperial Intelligence, an experience that Mara sincerely hoped she would never have to face again. She grimaced, not wanting to think about it. The II agents had been thorough and coldly efficient in their debriefing, leaving Mara feeling as though she had been completely torn to pieces.

Eventually satisfied, they had sent her back to Earth, where Starfleet Command had put her though another debriefing, which if not quite so thorough, had turned out to be even more soul destroying. She had not expected Starfleet to betray her like that.

Mara sighed, unconsciously rubbing the scar on her cheek. She had to stop thinking about the past and live for the future. Whatever this new ship held in store, she would survive and thrive and come what may, she knew she would see K'gor again.

She looked up, seeing for the first time, the welcoming smiles on the faces of her new crewmates and slowly an answering smile crept across her face. The past was the past. It was time for her to start looking forwards. For now, until she could find her way home, her future lay here – on the Starfleet Black ops vessel, USS Audacious.


End file.
